Kota Kinabalu: Sabah FC players are in great shape as they seek to win their third successive match in the AFC Cup competition against Haiphong FC tonight at Lạch Tray Stadium.
Head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee said the recent international break had given the players’ time to get enough rest in preparation for the match.
“There was a little gap in between our last match against PSM Makasar in Bali and the match tomorrow night.
“As a result, the players have enough time to recover and their condition is very good ahead of the match against Haiphong,” he said at the pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
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“We know it is not going to be easy playing against Haiphong even though they lost their last game.
“They had a hiccup against Hougang United but of course we all know it is never easy playing on an artificial field.
“It is important for us to keep focus and ensure that we play according to the plan and hopefully we can get a positive result tomorrow.”
Ong also played down suggestion that Haiphong are their main rival in group H and stressed that the other two teams are still in with a chance to progress.
Sabah FC are currently leading the table standing with six points.
Haiphong FC are second with three points, same as third place Hougang United from Singapore but with better goal difference followed by PSM Makasar of Indonesia in fourth who lost their opening two games.
“I believe every team in this group has an equal opportunity to qualify for the next round. We cannot take things for granted and we need to have a positive approach in each game,” he said.
Meanwhile, Haiphong coach Chu Đình Nghiêm said they need to win the tie to stay in the race to qualify.
“As we all know only one team from each group will qualify automatically and we will keep fighting as only one team who finishes as second best among all the teams in the group stage will get to progress to the next stage,” he said.
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